


Running From Fire

by Stkichi



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: 100 Year War (Avatar TV), Air Nomad Genocide (Avatar), Air Nomad Lore (Avatar), Air Nomads (Avatar), Gen, Spiritual, Surviving Air Nomads (Avatar)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:00:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27981948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stkichi/pseuds/Stkichi
Summary: After Aang was frozen in the iceberg, the Fire Nation launched a devastating attack on the Air Nation. The remnants of the genocide are left to survive; confused and wondering where their Avatar has gone.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	1. The Southern Air Temple

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted on my FFN account (under the same name) when I started it way back in 2014. I recently got back into writing and decided to post the story here as well. I'm fairly new to Ao3 so you'll have to forgive any formatting issues as I get used to the site. Only difference between the chapters on FFN and the ones posted here will be that these are the revised versions. You can read nearly the entire thing on FFN right now (only have a few more chapters left to go), but keep in mind that anything beyond what is posted here is not yet revised. These revisions aren't major though and I hope to get multiple chapters out a week as I go through them.
> 
> Without anything else to say, I hope you enjoy.

Rumors flying around the Southern Air Temple were just as common as those who bent the very air itself. It was of little surprise that a rumor as big as Aang being the Avatar was the first thing anyone heard when they entered a room for two straight weeks. Then the High Council confirmed the rumors and the whole temple exploded all over again with talk of the official news.

Owyn, a boy Aang's age who looked much the same as any of the temple's other twelve year old's with a shaved head, had denied the rumors with a ferocity that many found off-putting. He believed that Aang had started the rumors himself in order to become even more popular, if that were even possible after he had earned his tattoos. Aang was the envy of all trainees for months following his ascension, being one of the youngest masters in recorded Air Nation history.

If it was Aang's plot though, it certainly did backfire. Ever since the rumors had circulated the temple and subsequently confirmed by the High Council, Aang had been treated like he had a bad case of pentapox. Owyn couldn't help but smile with self satisfaction now that Aang was being ostracized by the boys their age.

It wasn't that he didn't like Aang as a person, in fact they had been the closest of friends just a few years back. That changed quickly though when they both turned nine and made the jump between Nava airbending training and Gavala airbending training. Or as all the young airbenders in training liked to call it, they made the jump between being baby sat and actually using airbending.

Once they began it had become quite clear that while airbending came naturally to Aang, Owyn struggled with the most basic of forms. Their friendship was headed towards rocky waters and turned into outright disdain over the course of those three years.

By the time they turned twelve, Aang had already mastered 35 of the 36 airbending forms and became a master when he invented the air scooter, which Owyn thought was rather unfair that he could use his own move to earn his mastership. Meanwhile, Owyn had only mastered 5 airbending forms, half of what was to be expected of someone of his age.

Childish jealously was not the sole factor that drove the divide between them though. When it became clear that Owyn could not keep up with Aang and the rest of his friends, they began excluding him from their games. Aang had sat out with Owyn at first while the others played airball, but at Owyn's behest, he too joined the others. Owyn just watched from the sidelines, fury and bitter envy being built every day that he could not join in on the fun.

So on a particularly hot summer day, instead of beginning to work on advanced glider techniques like the rest of the air nomads his age, Owyn was stuck in Master Gyatso's class, usually reserved for the youngest air nomads. He smacked his shaved head in frustration as he listened to Gyatso drone on about proper breathing and how to flow with the wind.

The young air nomads in the class, ranging from 5 to 7 years old all gazed intently at the aging master, while Owyn stared out towards the air surrounding the air temple, where several of his so called friends rushed past on their gliders.

After what seemed to be an eternity Gyatso dismissed them from their lesson and Owyn ran off to the upper parts of the air temple, hoping to convince his friends to stop flying around and join him in the dining hall for some fruit tarts. Not that he really believed he could convince them to stop flying; knowing what a rush it was despite his limited time spent flying through the air.

"Hey Owyn, wait up!" A cheery voice called from behind him.

Owyn groaned in frustration, being able to pick out _his_ voice from anywhere. He stomped his feet dramatically and turned to face Aang. "What do you want?"

Aang either ignored or didn't pick up the animosity of his voice as he continued to smile brightly at Owyn. "Have you seen Master Gyatso?"

"I'm sure that the Avatar doesn't need any help locating someone." Owyn spat out. The pained look on Aang's face almost made him falter as the young Avatar's shoulders slumped before he turned and walked away.

Doing his best to ignore the gnawing feeling in his gut, Owyn arrived at the top of the temple only to find that his friends had already made it back and dispersed. He sighed heavily and was about to leave as a gust of wind drew his attention back to the outer platform.

Standing there was a young master airbender with a glider being held firmly in his grasp, wearing a loose orange vest over a yellow shirt while his bottom half was covered with dark brown pants and high boots. Owyn looked down at his own apprentice clothes in disgust. When the man walked towards him with a smile, Owyn finally realized that he knew this young master.

"Kiron!" He yelled out as he jumped into the other's arms in a colossal hug.

Kiron stumbled backwards slightly at the unexpected weight before righting himself once more. "It's good to see you too Owyn." He patted the young boy on the back before setting him down.

"So?" Owyn looked at him expectantly.

"So what?" Kiron rubbed his small goatee quizzically.

"You're not going to tell me how your spiritual journey went?" Owyn practically jumped into his arms once more from excitement.

Kiron chuckled lightly, "Maybe later, for now I have to go talk to the council." Upon seeing Owyn's face drop he hunched over to the boy's level. "I'll tell you what, tomorrow you and I will sneak off and I'll tell you all about my adventures."

Owyn nodded vigorously before hugging Kiron once more and running off to the living quarters, eager to tell his friends that Kiron had returned. His mind raced back to the last time he had seen the young master. It had been nearly two years since Kiron went off on what the air nomads called a "spiritual journey". All that entailed was basically any new master airbender would go and explore the world before returning to help teach a new generation of air nomads. Of course, usually nobody returned as fast as Kiron did. Most stayed in the other nations for upwards of twenty years, Owyn thought that maybe his early return was because of the other rumors you couldn't escape in the temple.

Owyn shook his mind to clear his head of such thoughts, knowing that those rumors were really nothing more than simple gossip. Instead he focused back on his and Kiron's past.

Despite their ten year age difference, Kiron and Owyn were quite close before his departure. Kiron tried his hardest to teach Owyn everything he could about how to airbend and it really helped. Kiron seemed to be the only one whose teachings actually stuck with Owyn, so it was no surprise how much he regressed after his friend had left.

Finally arriving at the living quarters, he was quite surprised to see that those were practically deserted, save for a few younger nomads. The sun was setting just as Kiron arrived, which normally meant that the air nomads would be returning to their bedrooms. Owyn realized with some bitterness that they were most likely practicing their newly learned techniques after their lesson.

* * *

"Aang left."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Owyn turned to ask Kiron as the pair descended a staircase leading to the lower parts of the temple.

"He just...left. Apparently he took Appa last night and just took off. He left Master Gyatso a note saying as much."

Owyn thought back to the last conversation he had with Aang, a brief flash of guilt ran through his body before it was quickly replaced by the resentment he held towards the young Avatar. "Good riddance."

Kiron frowned at the boy. "How can you be so mean to the poor guy? He just found out he was the Avatar, that's a lot of responsibility to put on a kid."

"Oh no, poor Aang got even more attention than before."

"Try to see things from his perspective. Being the Avatar comes with a tremendous amount of pressure; I'm sure you being nicer to him would help him out a lot.

"Yeah, whatever." Owyn frowned deeply as the words gave him that gnawing feeling in his gut. The two air nomads turned down a hall leading to the bison stables. Owyn briefly looked out the window and was surprised to see that instead of the early morning sunrise, the whole sky had been dyed a deep maroon color. "What's up with the sky?"

Kiron turned to look out the window and the color drained completely from his face. "I thought we had more time." His muttering only made his young companion even more nervous as nearby footsteps from the staircase drew their attention away from the blood red sky. "This isn't good." Kiron muttered under his breath again and Owyn felt a chill run down his spine.

"Kiron what is-" Owyn's cut off question lingered in the air as two men entered the hallway, each adorned with matching armor consisting of reds and blacks, their faces hidden behind menacing skull masks.

Before either air nomad could question just what was happening the two armored men sent out two flame blasts towards Kiron and Owyn. Kiron acted quickly and spun his glider around quickly in his hands, the outgoing air barely deflecting the fire away. Never having sparred with a firebender before, Owyn had no basis for the comparison but something in the back of his mind told him that something was different about their bending.

"Owyn, run to the stables and find a sky bison!" Kiron's sharp order brought him back to reality.

"But-"

"Get as far away from the temple as you can!" Kiron snapped at him again before shoving him towards the stables with an air blast.

Owyn ran as fast as his legs would take him, his lungs nearly suffocating as the air all around him had seemed to turn smoke. He arrived at the stables and looked around in utter shock. The stables were no longer occupied by the air bison, but in their place were even more of those armored firebenders, as well as the most terrifying creature Owyn had ever seen in his young life.

He had heard stories about dragons, the loyal companions to a select few firebenders, but those tales truly failed to grasp just how massive they were. The dragon before him had a tail that was as big as a single sky bison, its scales itself seemed as big as an adult and its jaws were big enough to swallow a bison whole.

"There's another one!" One of the armored men finally took notice of Owyn, who was still standing there gawking at the beast.

Finally the impending rush of heat awoke him from his stupor and he used a gust of air to propel himself over the blast. The flames didn't touch him but the mere proximity was enough to char his clothes. The other men quickly caught on and Owyn's eyes widened in horror as flame erupted from each of their outstretched hands.

Having only one escape option he once again used an air gust to push himself closer to the cliff side, once again narrowly avoiding being burned. His back was now against the cliffside and it wasn't more than a split second that another rush of flames was coming towards and forced Owyn to do the only thing he could: he jumped.

The fire went harmlessly over him as he plummeted to the ground. Owyn shot off several puffs of air below him, only for each one to fail to slow his rapid descent. He clamped his eyes shut, awaiting what he hoped would be a quick and painless death.

Instead of the hard ground though, he felt a strong arm wrap around his waist. Owyn opened his eyes to see none other than Kiron hanging onto him, his glider keeping both of them up in the sky safely.

Owyn opened his mouth to speak, but upon seeing the tears forming in Kiron's eyes, thought better. He shifted slightly in Kiron's grasp to get a better look at the temple, which they now were flying away from. A silent gasp escaped his lips as he took in the scene.

Above the temple was the source of the reddened sky, a comet grazing awfully close to the nearby clouds. Below the comet was a sickening sight, one that was burned into Owyn's memory instantly. The temples were all ablaze, fire seemingly clinging to every surface. From this distance he could still see flames being shot off in various directions, as well at least ten dragons circling the towers.

He tore his eyes away, his stomach not being able to handle much more of the sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Pronunciation:
> 
> Owyn (O-wen)
> 
> Kiron (Kee-ron)
> 
> Word Origin:
> 
> Nava = young in Sanskrit
> 
> Gavala = bison in Sanskirt


	2. The Eastern Air Temple

Mina rolled her shoulders, attempting to work out the last of her kinks before setting off to see Sister Lio in the nursery. Today, the 15 year old airbender in training found herself tasked with what she considered the worst job in the entire temple, taking care of the newborns and toddlers.

Sister Lio always told her that her motherly instincts would kick in with time, but Mina was beginning to doubt that. Whenever she held any of the babies she had to resist gagging at their smell or holding back vomit over the disgusting vegetable mush they were fed. Regardless, it was something that she had to deal with if she wanted to earn her airbender tattoos. Supposedly learning to take care of the youngest airbenders at the temple was a way to foster community and better connect with everyone. Mina scoffed at this, she knew a chore when she saw it.

After throwing on her trainee robes and combing her long brunette hair into a simple bun, she looked outside the window to see it was a little before dawn. Strangely the sky seemed to be quite bright for dawn though, but thought nothing of it as she grabbed her glider and ran out the door. Knowing how much Sister Lio preached punctuality Mina decided the quickest way to the nursery would be through the air.

She dove out a nearby window and let herself plummet in freefall, reveling in the morning air rushing past her. Then she opened her staff's wings and all her momentum shifted as she shot back up the temple. Her hair threatened to spill out from the bun as the wind rushed past her. Tears filled her light blue eyes; she refused to blink during flight though, the thrill was much too exhilarating.

Not wanting the journey to be over she overshot the nursery's door and went in through one of its high windows. She landed with a gust of window and a wide smile, which quickly dropped as she observed the other girls all staring at her with contempt.

"Uh...hey." She said sheepishly and offered a weak wave.

"Are you trying to wake up the babies?" One of the other girls whisper-yelled at her in a shrill voice.

"Sorry, I just-"

"Shhhh!" All the other girls shushed at her when she opened her mouth again.

"Girls, please." Sister Lio came to her rescue. "I'm sure Mina here did not mean to wake the young ones. Besides, it is almost time for their morning feeding anyway." She smiled at Mina warmly, before looking out the window and narrowing her eyes at something in the distance. "If you'll excuse me girls, I must go check on something."

Sister Lio darted out the door, with Mina hot on her tail attempting to thank her teacher for covering for her.

"Sister Lio-" Mina's call for her teacher stopped short as she took in the now completely red sky all around the temple.

Lio looked at her with tears forming in her eyes. "Mina, quickly get inside we have to gather the young ones and get to the bison stables."

Mina nodded briefly, Lio's voice made it clear just how serious this matter was.

"Girls!" Lio's normally soothing voice came out in a panicked gasp as they reentered the nursery. "We have to leave-"

Her orders came to an abrupt halt as the entire temple shook and a loud crack shot up through the building. Mina looked up just in time to see part of the roof beginning to cave in on top of them. Instincts took over as she shot a gust of air and pushed Sister Lio out of the way to one side of the room, which in turn pushed her against the wall on the opposite end.

She hit the wall with a hard thud, her back absorbing most of the contact. The ringing in her ears persisted as she attempted to stand, but was quickly cut off as a sharp cry pierced the air. Her eyes scanned her surroundings and she realized that the roof has separated her from the rest of the air nomads. Well, almost all the air nomads.

The source of the cry came from a small toddler bundled up in a cocoon of blankets close to the collapsed roof, probably pushed out of their crib by Mina's strong air blast. Mina rushed over to the small child and scooped them up in one quick motion. She examined the girl with a once over and upon seeing that there were no injuries that she could find, breathed a sigh of relief. The moment did not last long though as she heard more of the building straining under the pressure of its own weight, ready to collapse at any moment.

Mina grabbed her staff from the ground and adjusted her arms to properly hold the little girl before sailing out the window. Her eyes widened quickly to take in the sight all around her. The temple was enveloped in thick smoke and the smell of ash and fire was everywhere. Screams of pain reverberated through the air and although Mina could not see anyone through the thick smoke, something in the back of her mind told her this was no natural fire.

With no other direction to go she pointed her glider to the stables to rejoin Lio and the rest of the girls from her class. A small cough distracted her from her task as she suddenly remembered she still had the little air nomad girl tucked under her arm. With a bit of awkward maneuvering, she managed to pull the girl's blanket over her mouth, better protecting her from the ashy smoke.

In another few moments Mina arrived at the stables, or rather what was left of the stables. Instead of finding a large grass patch surrounded by wooden stables, the entire field was now ablaze with no bison in sight. She landed anyway, hoping perhaps the thick smokescreen was just obstructing her view. The decision to land was very rapidly shown to be a bad one though, as she landed on the field just beside a towering dragon. The dragon was thoroughly scorching the last of the stables when it turned to face her and she swore she saw its eyes narrow.

The beast snarled with teeth as tall as her and Mina once again took flight, gripping the little girl close to her. Much to her dismay, the dragon followed her into the air and was far faster and more agile than any creature that size should be. Knowing she could not outrun the beast, she decided to try to lose it in the nearby canyons at the base of the air temple.

A thunderous roar from behind let her know that if she wanted to lose the dragon, she did not have much time. It could fly through the air at a much faster pace than she could and it would be mere moments before it caught up with her.

Finally, the rocky walls of the canyons came into view and she dove straight for them, the beast not far behind. Knowing now wasn't a time to be picky, she chose the first canyon she saw and flew down inside. The dragon wasted no time in following her down the tight canyon, proving it was as nimble as it was fast.

Mina gulped, running wasn't working and she didn't exactly like her chances in a fight, but she had to try. As delicately as she could she propelled herself and the girl on top of the glider, with her feet balancing carefully on the thin wood staff.

With only one arm free she gathered as much strength as she could muster and sent a powerful gust at the dragon, smacking it across its nose. The dragon let out a brief cry as its head snapped back before making for a quick retreat above the canyon.

Mina's victory was short lived, as just as it appeared the dragon was giving up it opened its mouth to unveil a powerful fire building in the back of its throat. She hastily repositioned underneath the glider and took off towards the bottom of the canyon, hoping the dragon's flames could not reach that far down. The heat she felt rushing towards told her otherwise and Mina quickly turned directions and shot off into one of the many caves along the walls of the canyon, praying the flames would stop.

Luck was clearly not on her side for as soon as she landed the flames found their way into her hiding place. She bent a small bit of air into her hand to create a vortex as her staff began spinning, creating an air shield. Her shield protected from any burns from intense flames but the shockwave from the attack blasted her against the cave wall.

Once again her back took the brunt of the hit and she fell to the ground in a heap, carefully shielding the girl from the hard ground. The adrenaline began to exit her body as she could feel her muscles tighten and her breathing grew shallow. Her eyes which had been clamped shut in pain suddenly shot open in horror as she realized that the little girl had not made a noise since her small cough on the way to the stables.

Mina carefully removed the blanket which was now covering the girl's face, half expecting to find a tiny mangled corpse. To her relief though the girl was still unharmed and was actually smiling at Mina, her tiny gray eyes squinting as she giggled at the older airbending girl.

Mina fell back on her back, too exhausted to stand. "Alright...little girl." She said awkwardly as she realized she didn't actually know her name. Her crib would have said it, had it not been destroyed by the collapsed roof. "Let's just get some sleep for now. Too tired."

The gray eyed little girl seemed to understand what Mina meant, for she curled her body even closer to the older girl. It took no time for the two air nomads to fall asleep.

* * *

A cry echoed loudly through the shallow cave, bringing Mina's slumber to an abrupt end. "Uh, what? Huh?" Mina looked around in the dark for a second before remembering where she was.

For the first time in hours she was able to move her arms and legs freely, so she made her way over to the cave's entrance, the little girl still crying while tucked under her arm.

The night sky had overtaken the red hue from before and based on the position of the moon Mina estimated it to be around midnight, which meant that the poor little girl had gone a full day without eating or drinking. Luckily the sight of the moon seemed to calm her young companion and she settled down.

Contemplating her options she knew that the only place close enough to get food would be the temple. Knowing an infant could only go so long without sustenance, she decided that it was worth the risk, whatever had attacked the temple had most likely moved on by now. Using an a gust to propel her staff back into her hands, she was just about to take off before looking down at the now quiet girl.

"You need a name." Mina declared more to herself. She thought for a while before arriving on one that seemed to fit the little girl. "Etain."

Etain instantly smiled upon hearing her new name and Mina knew she had made the right choice.

* * *

It wasn't long before the Eastern Air Temple came into view and the sight made Mina's heart sink. Her home was still ablaze with fire, although not nearly as much as when she left it this morning.

She prayed that this was a sign that the attackers had indeed moved on and perhaps her fellow air nomads had defended their home and were now tending to the mess left behind.

With an abundance of caution and not trying to attract any unwanted attention, she landed at the bottom of the temple, near one of the orchards where most of the temple's fruit came from. Her hopeful spirits were crushed as she saw that all the fruit bearing plants had been burned, save for a small apple tree that had miraculously survived.

Etain didn't seem to mind the lack of variety, as the little girl ate apples to her heart content. Mina was eternally grateful that she seemed to be travelling with the least fussy toddler in the entire temple.

After they both filled their appetites, Mina filled a sack she had found with more of the fruit knowing that food might be scarce within the temple. Feeling a bit braver since their arrival, Mina wrapped Etain up in her blanket and ascended the temple's central staircase.

The next closest place would be the stables, however a quick look revealed those were in just as bad as shape as when she had fled. She checked everywhere: the living quarters, the nursery, the airball field. All of them were as deserted as the last.

What was quite worrying were the various discarded pieces of red and black armor she managed to find. It seemed as if her fears had been confirmed, the Fire Nation had attacked the temple.

The last place to check in the temple did give her a bit of hope though, for it was the place that the air nomads valued above all else. That being the chakra ponds at the top of the temple, which were surrounded by a natural water spring that ran from the top of the temple all the way down to its base.

Mina leapt up the last set of stairs and was instantly hit with a smell so foul she nearly fell back down the stairs. Having come too far to be turned back by a mere smell, she pulled her tunic over her nose and pressed on.

The sight did not seem to register to her at first and she had to blink several times before her vision could focus on what was before her: piles of corpses, all burnt beyond the point of recognition.

Mina vomited the meal she had just consumed before opening her glider and taking off with Etain in tow. In what seemed like an instant she had flown all the way down to the ocean at the base of the mountain the temple sat atop. Trying in vain to wake from the nightmare, Mina soaked herself in the ocean water as her sobbing grew to uncontrollable levels. After soaking herself to the bone she clutched onto Etain tightly, her sobbing eventually giving way to exhaustion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Pronunciation:
> 
> Mina (Me-nuh)
> 
> Etain (E-tayn)
> 
> Lio (Lie-Oh) who is also an in canon character that we see in a flashback when Aang first met Appa at the Eastern Air Temple.


	3. The Northern Air Temple

Tuyen meditated atop one of the temple spires, trying to focus solely on his breathing. Normally an extraordinarily easy task for the forty year old airbending master, he couldn't seem to keep his mind from wandering.

He had just been given a chair on the High Council and would be sitting in on his first meeting tomorrow. Already a daunting task, he was also faced with the unenviable task of convincing the elder members that war was on the horizon. They had already grumbled at Tuyen getting the position, with him being the youngest council member ever, so he would be facing quite the uphill battle.

His appointment was a controversial choice with many around the temple claiming that Master Swami only picked him as his successor as a form of favoritism towards his former student. Still, Swami was well within his rights to appoint whoever he thought would best represent the Air Nation's best interests.

Tuyen shook his head, knowing that those doubts surrounding his ability would disappear in time. Trying to convince them that the rumors of war being true would be a much more difficult task. There was no way they would believe him, their entire lives had been lived in peace and with the Avatar in their nation everyone believed the already historically neutral nation was even less of a target.

Already knowing that he would need substantial evidence to persuade them, Tuyen sent out his former student, Kona, to gather some information from the Fire Nation. Kona was due back tonight and Tuyen wanted to make sure he could talk with him before the council meeting tomorrow.

A gust of wind disturbed his meditation and he adjusted his dark black beard before opening his eyes. Kona rubbed his hand over his newly tattooed head arrow as his former teacher slowly rose from the ground, his long red and orange cloak fluttering softly in the wind.

Kona straightened his orange tank top nervously, knowing that his master would not approve of his new choice in clothes.

"I liked you better in the training tunic." Tuyen finally said after a few moments of staring at Kona while stroking his beard.

"Hey, what can I say? It's hot in the Fire Nation." Kona shrugged slightly before a giant grin broke out on his face. He closed the distance between the two of them and hugged Tuyen anxiously, who in turn hugged him just as tightly.

A moment later and Tuyen was all business once more. "What did you find out?"

Kona looked at his boots before answering. "I'm afraid that the news is quite grim. Whispered conversations, bar talks, the guards chatting... they all said the same thing. The Fire Nation is going to attack us soon. There was a lot of anti Avatar propaganda over there and even though they didn't take responsibility, it's pretty obvious it came from the Fire Lord. "

"How soon will they attack?"

"I don't know. They were just as confused as to what was going on. They just know that recruitment into the army has tripled and there's been a lot of talk about some comet. I read everything I could about it, but all the books said was that the comet brought new life to the Fire Nation and it was a time to rejoice. I'm pretty sure they are going to attack on the day it arrives."

"Nobody knows what day that is?"

Kona shook his head with a frown. "I couldn't find out. The books were barebones at best with information about this thing. And when I asked someone they took one look at my clothes and walked the other way."

"Did you warn the other temples as I asked?"

"Yeah, but I'm really not sure they all believed me."

"And what of my other request?"

"I spread as many rumors as I could. I really think that they believe that the Avatar is here at the Northern Air Temple." Kona smiled mischievously.

"Excellent, with any luck they will ignore the other temples and only attack here."

Kona cracked his knuckles before replying, "Yeah, and we'll make them regret ever setting foot here."

Tuyen wrapped his arm lightly around Kona's shoulders and began leading him down into the temple. "So tell me, did Vania give you any trouble?" He knew that Vania was somewhat annoyed anytime Kona held her reins. His former student loved to push the bison to go as fast as possible.

"That big fur ball? As if, me and her got along just fine."

"You know that the option of bonding with your own bison is always available, right?"

"I know, but you know me. I am a very hard man to please."

Tuyen chuckled softly at his antics. "Well then, I must retire for the night. Big day tomorrow."

"G'night Master."

"Kona." He grabbed his student's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "We must be prepared for anything."

* * *

"Absolutely not! There is no way that the Fire Nation would be so foolish as to attack us now!" One of the other council members reiterated for the umpteenth time.

The council meeting had begun about an hour before dawn and was now entering its second hour, the heat from the early morning sun was particularly unforgiving today.

Tuyen resisted rolling his eyes once more. "All I'm saying is that with the mysterious death of Avatar Roku and the Fire Nation colonies already being set up in the Earth Kingdom, there is a possibility that they might attack us."

Master Swami, who sat in the meeting as a way of mediating between Tuyen and the other council members, finally stood up. "I agree with Master Tuyen." The near ninety year old airbender smiled at his former apprentice. "These are troubling times and we must prepare for anything."

"Are you suggesting we build an army?" The High Elder of the council spoke out.

"No, I am simply saying that we not get so set in our ways that an invasion happens right under our noses!" Tuyen yelled out in exasperation.

Before any of the other members could respond the door to the council room suddenly burst open, revealing a very distraught looking Kona.

"What is the meaning of this?" The High Elder cried out.

"My apologies masters, but I think you should see this. The sky has turned completely red and a comet is approaching from the east."

"The sky has no effect on our day to day basis." The High Elder replied.

A deafening roar overtook the entirety of the temple immediately after the words left his mouth. Tuyen looked across the room, seeing varying faces of confusion and sadness.

"It's the Fire Nation." Tuyen did not wait to see if they believed him before he turned back to Kona. "Come with me, we shall gather the children."

* * *

Tuyen and Kona encountered yet another firebender wandering the halls of the air temple. Even with the strength of two master airbenders they struggled to defeat any of the Fire Nation soldiers they had encountered thus far. The power and strength of the flames were enough to cut through most of even the most advanced airbending moves.

After a few minutes of tense fighting, the two benders did manage did throw this firebender out a window with their strength combined into one air blast.

"Master." Kona doubled over, grasping his knees as he tried to even his breath. "I had no idea they would come with an entire army."

"Blinded by our own hubris." Tuyen replied as he leant against the wall, battling his own struggles with breathing through the thick smoke.

"Do you think they attacked the other temples as well?"

"We must stay focused on ourselves first. Escape with as many survivors as we can and then we can regroup and make a plan."

Kona nodded in consent and they resumed their search. Rounding the next corner they came upon two young boys, their training robes soaked with tears as they huddled close to one another in a dark corner.

Tuyen shook their shoulders gently and upon seeing another Air Nation member, the two boys sprung up from their position and hugged onto him tightly. "Come with us boys, we'll get you out of here."

The four of them sprinted down the hallway heading towards a staircase, but stopped short at a window when they heard nearby voices. Kona halted them and made a signal to get down low, while he and Tuyen peered over the windowsill.

In a courtyard a few stories below them there were three Fire Nation soldiers, two wearing the standard armor while the third was dressed much more regally, including a golden hairpiece.

"Fire Lord Sozin." One of the armored ones addressed the regally dressed man. "We have gathered all the young ones that we have found as per your instruction, but none have shown any signs of being the Avatar."

"Well keep it up. He's bound to be here somewhere, I'm sure of it." The older man replied.

Kona turned to Tuyen and in a hushed voice said, "I can't believe it. We even fooled the Fire Lord."

Tuyen shook his head. "All we have done is fooled ourselves. Look at what has happened Kona, our temple has been nearly destroyed because of our false rumors."

Kona shot back a wicked grin before turning back to the window. "Well I'll make him pay for what he has done. I'll meet up with you at the bison stables."

Before Tuyen could even question him Kona had shot out through the window and descended into the courtyard. The Fire Nation men didn't have any time to recognize their intruder before a powerful air blast sent all of them careening at a wall.

Kona smiled brightly when he saw the two armored men were knocked out cold by the blast, but was quite surprised to see the ancient looking Fire Lord stand up like nothing happened.

The two young air nomads gasped beside Tuyen and made a move to go help Kona, but his firm grasp held them in place. "No, he can handle himself."

Sozin wasted no time before sending a flame blast out from his extended hands. Kona blocked it expertly with an air shield, but the sheer force of the blast knocked him back a few feet. Knowing he couldn't last long on the defensive, he used a gust of wind to propel himself into the air. Sozin fired several flame bursts at him, Kona managing to splice through all of them before landing delicately in front of the firebender.

As Sozin gathered energy for another attack, Kona quickly shot his palm forward. A powerful air gust hit Sozin square in the chest and pushed him out of the courtyard towards the cliff side. After chasing his target down, the fight was now out of sight of the Tuyen and the other two young airbenders.

Worried about his former student, Tuyen told the two of them to continue towards the bison stables, where he would meet up with them shortly. Tuyen chased down the two fighters, arriving on a nearby roof just as Kona began to flip in the air over Sozin once more.

A flame pillar erupting from the Fire Lord's hands chased Kona through the air, but the attack ended just before it could hit his student.

Tuyen jumped down from the roof when suddenly the hair on the back of his neck stood. The air, previously smoky and unbearably hot, now seemed to be dry and full of static. Instead of preparing another flame blast Sozin was making hand movements the likes of which neither Tuyen nor Kona had seen a firebender make before.

Kona landed hard behind the Fire Lord, ready to strike yet another blow. However, just as he landed Sozin ceased his hand movements and his right hand extended out towards Kona. Expecting another flame blast Kona prepped himself to make an air shield, but the flames never came. A bright blue flash shot out from his extended fingertips and hit Kona square in the chest before he had time to react. Kona let out a weak cry before his body was shot off, tumbling down the rocky cliffs.

Tuyen felt his heart hit the back of his throat as he jumped down in front of Sozin before unleashing all his might unto the Fire Lord. The old man struggled to fight off the countless gusts and was now teetering on the edge of the cliff. Before Tuyen could find the strength to deliver the final blow a burst of flames interrupted their duel.

Tuyen attempted to fight off the new firebenders who had come to the aid of their Fire Lord, but it wasn't long before they had him trapped against the cliff side. Sozin stepped forward after ordering his men to stop firing. "Tell me where you are keeping the Avatar and you will live."

His request was met with Tuyen sending an air blast his way, knocking him off his feet. The other firebenders all unleashed their flames at their superior's attacker. Tuyen brought up an air dome to protect himself before dissipating it and sending the remaining air at the Fire Nation soldiers. Using the distraction he jumped down the cliffs, escaping the unwinnable battle.

* * *

It didn't take him long to find Vania. She was in a cave at the base of the one of the mountains the temple stood atop of. Tuyen would always take her here when he first bonded with her. He rubbed her nose sympathetically before climbing aboard. He grabbed the reins and gave a half hearted "yip-yip". His eyes filled with tears as he was able to see the entire temple now, smoke spilling out from seemingly anywhere. Going back to search for survivors would be suicide right now.

Tuyen could not just sit by and wait though, he had to know if Kona's actions had spared the other temples from this fury. He set course for the Western Air Temple, praying to every Spirit he could name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Pronunciation:
> 
> Kona (Coh-nuh)
> 
> Tuyen (Too-yin)
> 
> Swami (Swah-me)
> 
> Vania (Vuh-nee-uh)
> 
> Thanks for reading.


	4. The Western Air Temple

"Are you ready for tomorrow?"

"Yes, but I really don't see the point. Everything will be fine without us."

Kane struck his son across the face for what seemed like the twentieth time that day. "Fool! Have you not listened to a word I have said the past week?"

His son, Dez, rubbed his injured cheek dramatically before responding. "And I already told you, old man, that there is no way the Fire Lord is crazy enough to actually do something like that."

"You doubt the word of a man who sat on the Fire Lord's council for ten years? And that man happens to also be your father!"

Dez glared at his father. "You stopped being my father a long time ago. In case you hadn't noticed, I tried my best to get as far away from you as possible until you show up on my doorstep ranting and raving over some comet. The only reason I even let you in was because I thought you had finally lost it...or actually had the guts to come apologize to me."

Kane now matched his son's glare with equal vigor. "I owe you no apology boy."

The two Fire Nation men stood there steaming at each other for a few tense moments before the younger one finally spoke. "How did you find me anyway?"

"The Fire Nation does like to keep tabs on those enlisted in the army."

"You went through the army? I thought you retired ages ago!"

"I did. Then I promptly reenlisted once I finally understood what that fool of a Fire Lord meant all those years ago."

Dez's eyes shot over to the windows, checking again to make sure they were shut. "Would you calm down with all that talk about the Fire Lord? You're going to get yourself executed with talks like that."

"Oh believe me you'll know what I mean tomorrow."

"Would you stop talking about tomorrow? I'm not going through with your crazy plan. It's just going to get us both killed."

Kane's eyes softened at his son's words. "Not go through with it? Son, please. I am begging you to help. Without us, all of those poor people will die.

Having had enough of his dad's antics, Dez turned his back on his father. "Just leave. Please, I think it would be for the best."

Kane sighed heavily and took a long look at his son's back, before finally admitting defeat and walking towards the door. He cracked the door open and looked back. "Son... if you change your mind, please just take them back to my house. Everyone will be safe there." After a few more silent moments Kane fully departed his son's home and went off to prepare himself for the upcoming day.

* * *

Malu went through the motions once more. She spun into another stance as her dark brunette hair threatened to spill out from her tight bun.

After going through the same stance again her friend Nara let out a groan and collapsed onto the floor.

"Malu! Come on, when I said that I wanted your help with airbending practice, I assumed that meant we would actually do some airbending!" She cried out towards the starry night.

Malu crinkled her nose in annoyance at her friend's flippant attitude towards the very important stances she was going through. _Your lack of basics are why you are struggling._ Malu thought with a frown before addressing her friend's comment. "Well if you were paying any attention you might be able to see that these techniques are essential to becoming a master airbender. Unless that is you want to stay a trainee forever."

Nara let out another huge groan. "You know I don't want that. It's just... all you're doing is going over the same stuff we go over in our studies. You and I both know I can do that stuff. I wanna learn the more advanced techniques before you become a master. Once you leave for your spiritual journey it'll be too late cause we both know I don't learn squat from anyone but you."

"I just turned eighteen Nara. I'm younger than you, there's no way I get my tattoos that soon." In truth, those tattoos had all been Malu could think of since her birthday two weeks ago. They both knew she was close to becoming a master, no matter how much she may deny it.

"Malu, you're a better bender than anyone our age." Nara replied with a sad tone, they hadn't spoke much about Malu's impending departure from the temple. They had known each other as long as either could remember. Both had assumed they would go out into the world together, but with Nara's recent struggles that was seeming less and less likely.

Malu sniffled as the thought of leaving Nara nearly brought her to tears. She changed the subject back to airbending for both of their sakes. "Well the only way that I can do those advanced techniques is by going through these basics so you better learn some patience."

"Oh forget it! We aren't getting anywhere tonight anyway. Let's go do something fun!"

Malu raised an eyebrow in Nara's direction, always amazed at the other's ability to completely change focus in the blink of an eye. "First of all, no. Second of all, the only reason I am breaking curfew is to help you with your training so if we aren't going to be doing that I'll be headed straight for bed."

Nara stared blankly at her friend for a few moments. "Could you possibly be any more boring? I swear you have never had any fun in your entire life."

"I have so! Do I have to remind you just last week when you convinced me eat those fire flakes we found in town. My tongue is still burning by the way." Malu quickly spat back.

"Oh yeah..." Nara trailed off as she gave a coquettish grin. "But that was last week, you haven't met your fun quota for this week. Come with me to the top of the temples, I wanna go stargazing."

Malu kicked a loose rock sheepishly. "But... that's where the masters' dormitories are."

"Yes, and it is also the best place to go star gazing. But if you are too big of a baby to go I'll just have to tell you how amazing it is tomorrow morning." With that, Nara practically glided up a nearby set of stairs.

Malu stomped her foot down, knowing that her friend had once again baited her. Not wanting to be taunted by Nara for what was sure to be the next week, she ascended the stairs after her friend. After a few minutes she came to the final staircase which opened up into a large courtyard. The courtyard was mostly used for meditation, but for Nara, it was her favorite spot in the whole temple. This courtyard was the only spot that the cliffs above them did not obstruct the view of the skies at all.

So it came to no surprise when Malu saw her friend already sat down in prime position, looking up at the night sky.

"Who's boring now?" Malu taunted her friend, but got only silence in response. She began walking towards her, slightly annoyed that her friend didn't even seem to notice her. "Oh come on, you got to give me some credit."

"Shh"

"Did you just-"

"Shh" Nara once again shushed her friend. "Look at that."

Malu rolled her eyes before obliging her friend's request. She gasped in surprise when her gaze landed upon the unusually bright night. The whole sky had turned a reddish hue, and in the center of the sky was what appeared to be the brightest star either of the two girls had ever seen.

The two airbenders sat there in silence for the next hour, staring in wonder as the red star seemingly grew closer and closer.

* * *

Dez arose early the next morning. Quickly he put on his armor before running to the base, his superior had told him several times already that this was not the day to be late. When he arrived at the base he was quite surprised to see just how many soldiers were called in. The base was ten times more packed than he had even seen it before, the practice yards had become standing room only and everyone else seemed to be just as confused as him.

Realizing that trying to find his faction amongst the chaos was pointless, he lined up in what he thought was some sort of formation. After a few minutes a commanding officer came out to speak to the troops.

From the back of the formation, Dez could hardly hear anything. He thought he made out something that sounded suspiciously like "dragons", but before he could ponder on that for too long the formation was already moving out.

Once in the staging area, the troops were separated into twenty man squads led by a superior officer. Finally, Dez was actually able to hear some of the orders being given to him once their superior started shouting at them.

"We are going to be moving out one squad at time. Our squad will be one of the first twenty to deploy so I want no mistakes. Once we are at our destination you will obey all my orders exactly as I say them! I want no hesitation on anyone's parts. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir!" Dez's squad all cried out in unison.

"Good. And just in case I wasn't clear then you all should know that if you choose to disobey any of my orders then you will be executed on the spot, no questions asked. Am I clear?"

"Executed?" One of the soldiers questioned the order that was echoing in the rest of their minds.

The squad leader marched up to the soldier who had voiced his concern. "Am I clear?" His tone showed just how serious he was about following through on the threat.

"Yes sir!" The entire squad said in unison once more.

"Excellent! Now get ready because transport is almost here."

The soldiers gave each other nervous looks, but without being dismissed did not dare question what was happening. No more than two minutes later a deafening cry rained down on the Fire Nation soldiers. Twenty of the famed dragons descended into the staging areas. Lots of gasps and shouting were heard as this sight was a first for many of the men. Most of them dreamed of seeing just one dragon, but twenty of them all in one place was unheard of.

"Let's move out!" Dez's squad leader brought their focus back as he climbed aboard the beast closest to them. Upon closer inspection, Dez could see that each dragon was fitted with some sort of wooden contraption resembling a saddle. The squad quickly climbed aboard, not wanting to waste their shot at riding on a dragon.

All at once the winged creatures rose back to the sky and took off heading east.

A few minutes into the journey Dez felt like someone had dropped a rock on his head. The pounding feeling he had first noticed as a dull pain this morning, but figured it was nothing at the time. To add onto his splitting headache, his hands burned as if he had just spent an entire day bending. His chi felt completely off and despite of the impossibility of it he was sure he was moments away from combusting into flames.

Having trained for many years to be a firebender, Dez thought he had outgrown these pains a long time ago. Hoping to alleviate some of the aches, he decided to light a small fire in the palm of his hand. At first the small flame seemed to help him wonders, but suddenly the small fire erupted into a near two foot plume that nearly burnt off Dez's eyebrows.

The squad leader turned around and cried out over the sound of the rushing air. "Enough messing around, put on your helmets and get ready to move out."

The squad all did as they were told and put on the spiky black and red helmets. The dragon carrying them began losing height quickly and once they broke through the cloud cover it was clear where they were headed: the Western Air Temple.

This sight did not sit easy with Dez, as his father did warn him that the army would be headed to the air temples. Brushing it off as mere coincidence, he refocused on the task at hand...whatever that happened to be. He could not figure out why they would possibly be headed to the air temple with so many troops. Normally the only reason they went off base at all was for drills, but to go all the way to the Western Air Temple for a drill was undeniably strange.

Despite his nerves, he could not help but to admire the famous architecture of the temple. Dez had always dreamed of exploring the upside down temple and it seemed like his wish was coming true, he was just praying that his father hadn't been right. _You don't bring armor for a visit._ Dez's mind was racing with doubt and he felt the sudden urge to exit the saddle, if only it wouldn't lead to his untimely death.

Before any more of his doubt could settle, their dragon landed with a thud onto one of the many upside down buildings that composed the air temple. The squad scampered off quickly and as soon as the last member was off, the dragon took off once again.

"Alright listen up. I am only going to say this once!" Their squad leader screamed as hard as he could at them. Even louder than the officer could yell though, ear piercing screams began to fill the air and it became difficult to hear him. Dez only caught a few lines. "Kill...over twenty... if they...under that... bring back here." Before Dez could patch together what he had said the squad moved out. Still, it didn't take a genius to realize they were not here for peaceful reasons.

The squad came upon a room with a small fountain in it. There, Dez saw an airbender woman, on her knees with her head in her palms in a praying motion.

As the airbending woman came into their leader's sight, he unleashed a massive fireball in her direction. She stood no chance as the flames engulfed her, her screams echoed in the hall for a few moments before death overtook her. The squad stood behind their leader in shock. Nobody moved a muscle until their leader shot another fireball aimed over their heads.

"Do exactly as I tell you and you will survive this day!" He spat out angrily.

Dez's headache turned into a dizzying one as everything hit him all at once. He could deny the obviousness of the reality no longer. Everything his father had told him had been true. They were here to kill the airbenders.

His vision grew blurry and it took a moment for him to even realize he had fallen to his knees. The approaching sound of marching feet made him cock his head upwards. His squad leader was there, his dark orange eyes nearly red with anger. He was yelling something at Dez, but he couldn't understand a word of it.

Turning all his confusion and pain into anger, Dez shot out a fire ball aimed directly at his squad leader. The man fell back screaming, but Dez wasn't around long to hear it. He took off down an adjacent hallway, not even bothering to look back to see if he being followed. The sound of boots stomping behind him was all the confirmation he needed.

Summoning all his strength he fired another plume of flames through the wooden roof above him. The roof caved in behind him and to his luck, seemed to slow down his pursuers. He didn't stop until he was finally sure he lost them. He stopped to catch his breath momentarily in a small bedroom and for a few minutes all was quiet. His luck did not hold though as a few minutes later the sounds of footsteps echoed through the hallway just outside.

Hoping to get the jump on whoever had chased him, he shot out from behind the door just as they were right on top of him. However, rather than armored Fire Nation soldiers, he encountered his father, leading around fifteen teenaged airbender girls.

"Dad?" Dez asked, thinking his guilty subconscious was now just playing tricks on him.

His father's face lit up at the sight of his son, especially considering he was alone. "Dez! No time to explain, we have to move now!"

"What about Malu though?" One of the girls cried out. Her brown hair which had been tied in two braids was nearly gray with soot.

"My son will retrieve her." Kane reassured her. "Son, go up that flight of stairs behind you. It will lead to a set of dorms. Find the girl they are talking about and head to the bottom of the temple. She will know the way out." He turned around and began leading his group away before turning back to add something else. "Also do not hesitate to strike down any of your countrymen, they won't spare you that expense either."

Dez shook his head, still not fully convinced this was all a dream. When more cries echoed through the walls, he shook off his stupor and took off up the stairs.

* * *

Malu stretched her arms high into the air. She scratched at her head for a moment while taking a look around the room. Surprisingly, Nara had awoken before her and had left their bedroom all ready. The overpowering smell of smoke soon overtook the room and Malu shot out of bed, something was definitely wrong.

She threw on her boots and flew out the door, only to slam into the chest of an armor plated man. The young airbender rubbed her head before looking up at her roadblocks. Staring back at her were two men, clad in full armor that was red and black. She assumed that meant they were from the Fire Nation, but what they were doing here was a mystery to her.

"Does she look young enough?" The one on the left asked his partner.

"How should I know? We weren't trained at figuring out the age of girls."

"Well I'm certainly not going to...do the other thing to her so let's just take her with us."

Two pairs of hands descended upon her and Malu shot back up to her feet. Before they could get another chance at grabbing her she blasted them down the hall with an air blast before taking off running the other way.

She found a hiding spot in another room four hallways off from the original. She shut the door as quietly as she could and held her breath, hoping this nightmare would be over soon. Malu placed an ear to the door at the sound of approaching footsteps. Just as they quieted the sound of shouting was heard. Then a battle of some sorts could be heard, exactly who was fighting who she couldn't be too sure. Finally, the battle ended and all that could be heard was the sound of doors opening and closing. And the noise was getting closer.

When whoever was opening the doors was only a few rooms down Malu knew she had to do something to stop her would be assailant. She got in a defensive position and calmed her breath, ready for whatever popped through the door. After what seemed to be an eternity, her door handle turned and another of the armored men burst in.

He barely had any time to raise his arms before Malu's air blast sent him clear across the hall. She scurried out the room and dove on top of him, hoping to finally get some answers.

"Please, please. I'm here to help." He held out his arms in a surrendering position. In one quick motion he removed his helmet and underneath it was the face of a young Fire Nation man. His voice didn't match either of her previous attacker's so she decided to listen to him, if only for a moment.

"Who are you?" Malu shouted in a voice she didn't realize she possessed. She got off of him, but kept her arms up, ready to strike.

He slowly rose to his feet. "We have to get out of here, there's no telling when someone else will find us."

"Why should I trust you? Two of your friends just tried to attack me."

"I know you have no reason to trust me, but you just have to. Otherwise you are going to die here." Seeing that his words were having no effect, he decided a different tactic. "I'm Dez. My father, Kane, and I are helping out airbenders. Your friend, with the brown hair and braids sent me to come help you. Your name is Malu, right?"

At the mention of Nara and the man knowing her name, Malu lowered her defenses slightly. The nearby sound of screaming convinced her fully. "Alright, lead me to my friend. But if you make one wrong move I will not hesitate to hurt you."

Dez ignored her threat and grabbed hold of her hand to lead her down into the temple. They were able to avoid any Fire Nation patrols, as they were focusing on the upper levels first. They sprinted through the labyrinth of hallways and endless staircases for ten minutes before reaching the lower levels.

"My dad said you would know a way out of the temple down here and then we would meet up." Dez looked at her questioningly.

Malu sighed deeply, wishing nothing more than to take to the skies on her glider rather than run through some cave. Despite this, she guided him to one of the tunnels leading to the forest beyond the temple. Dez had helped her out of a tight spot and she doubted he could find his way out without her help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Pronunciation/Origin:
> 
> Malu (Mal-oo) Malu actually exists as a near canon character and was part of the inspiration for the story. She was a character in the Avatar trading card game and I borrowed the name. If you are interested I suggest looking up the name Malu on Avatar Wiki.
> 
> Nara (Nar-uh)
> 
> Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed.


	5. Sacrifices for Survival

The red skies finally relented to the night sky as normality returned for the rest of the world, but it would be another hour before Kiron finally set him and his travelling partner down. Unfortunately, exhaustion ruined any hope of a clean landing and the two airbenders went tumbling onto the dirt ground.

Owyn didn't even flinch and for a moment Kiron thought he could have been seriously injured. Mustering up the last of his strength he stood and walked over to the young companion.

"Owyn." His voice came out as a rasp, his throat still burned from the smoe. The youth still did not stir so Kiron bent down and gently rocked Owyn with his hand. "Come on, we gotta get moving."

The younger airbender finally awoke from the stupor and was once more crushed to find that what had happened today wasn't all some twisted nightmare. He buried his head in his hands and turned away from Kiron. "Just leave me alone."

Kiron, despite not exactly having all his emotions in check, understood just how traumatic this must be to the young boy. "Listen Owyn, it'll be alright. We have to find help though. We'll find the other…" He hesitated as he realized he was about to say survivors. "We'll find the others." He had to spare Owyn's feelings as long as he could, he had no idea if Owyn even comprehended everything that happened.

Owyn wiped away some loose tears from his eyes with his sleeve. "How do we do that?" He questioned with a sniffle.

Kiron had no way of knowing who could have survived the attack, but he knew for certain that one airbender still lived for he was not at the temples. "We have to find Aang."

Owyn's face grew into a deep scowl. "Why should we find that jerk?"

Resisting the urge to scream at his immaturity, Kiron continued to take it all in stride. "Listen, as much as you may not him, Aang is the Avatar, right?" Owyn nodded his head in forced agreement. "Ok, well that means that everyone else is going to be looking for him. We have to make sure he is safe."

"What about us? We aren't exactly safe right now!"

"Owyn, you must calm down. There is no telling where Aang has gotten to and we have to stick with our people, even if we don't like them."

Owyn looked away angrily before nodding again. Kiron quickly took hold of the boy and took off in the air once more, his will for survival pushing him through his physical and mental exhaustion. Aang may have been just a child, but just knowing the Avatar was alive would be enough to rally their people.

* * *

"Etain don't eat that!" Mina darted for the mushroom the toddler was just about to shove into her mouth.

Since departing from their now destroyed air temple three days ago, Mina had learned quite a bit about her young travelling companion. Etain must have been one of the older children at the nursery and was most likely months away from leaving the crib behind. Mina estimated her to be between two and three years old, capable of mimicking everything the older girl said as well as coming up with a few of her own thoughts.

"Etain, don't eat that!" Etain repeated back to Mina with a huge grin. Mina couldn't help but smile down at her little mimic. The sight at the top of the temple had been haunting her, but having the cheerful young girl with her did wonders for her mood. Etain was unlike any other baby or toddler that Mina had dealt with in her time at the temple. Aside from their first night together when she cried briefly after having not eaten all day, Etain had not screamed or thrown a tantrum once.

Perhaps if all the other toddlers in the nursery were like this, Mina would've actually enjoyed their presence. Thinking back to the nursery soured her mood as the sound of the roof collapsing echoed in her ears. She had resolved just yesterday to stop thinking about her life at the temple, the memories were far too fresh and painful still.

Not thinking about the temple was precisely the reason why the two young girls found themselves on the outskirts of a nearby fishing village that Mina visited often. The memories here were a lot happier and Mina knew they could find something to help them on their journey, so long as they made a small sacrifice. Not knowing just how wide spread the attacks were, she could not risk exposing herself as an airbender this close to the temple.

Mina looked down at her airbender robes and knew what must be done. Despite not being the most spiritual airbender in the world, she did know just how important these clothes were to her people. Even still, the survival of her people was far more important than preserving their clothes.

With tears in her eyes Mina stripped down to her undergarments and undid her hair from its bun, the golden hair pin decorated with the Air Nation symbol alongside the signature hair style of many female Air Nomads would doom her just as easily as the clothes.. Her brown hair came tumbling down in a matted mess, betraying just how rough survival had been for the pair. Etain once more took after her older companion and threw off the orange blanket and small robe covering her body, leaving her with nothing but a cloth diaper. Mina worried the young girl may catch a cold, but once more Etain's smiling face reassured her it would be fine.

Mina wrapped both of their clothes in the blanket before burying the sack along-side her staff. She was going to miss being able to glide away from danger, but that staff would bring danger on her faster than she could escape using it. Mina quickly memorized her hiding spot before covering the hole with dirt.

She turned her sight back to the village. Although she was not exactly thrilled to be going into the village in nothing but her undergarments, she knew that a half-naked fifteen-year-old clutching a baby was a lot easier to explain than if any of her attackers were here and saw them wearing airbender clothes. Besides, with the moon high in the night sky, the fishing village had long gone to sleep.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she picked up Etain in one arm and crept into the village.

Finding clothes was easy enough as most everyone in the village hung their clothes out to dry at night. Deciding not to be picky, Mina quickly grabbed something for herself and then Etain. Mina dressed herself as fast as she could and gagged at salt water smell that had permanently seeped into the shirt. She fought down another gag as she finished pulling the drab brown pants up her legs, perplexed as to how anyone could get used to smelling like that.

The clothes would work as a suitable disguise though. She already didn't have the most distinct airbender traits, her skin a fair shade darker than most other airbenders and blue eyes that looked like they belonged to a water bender. Nobody would think twice about her dressed like this, they may guess she was from the Water Tribes or Earth Kingdom, but never the Air Nation. The heavy green shirt was terribly stuffy in her opinion though, and she had no idea who would choose to wear something so hideous.

Rather quickly she got over her petty troubles regarding local fashion and turned her attention to Etain who once again had copied Mina's actions and dressed herself. Etain also put her nose up to the oversized robe Mina had found for her before immediately sticking her tongue out in disgust.

Mina stifled a small giggle before grabbing onto Etain's waist and hoisting the girl into her arms. Although Mina was tired and hungry, she knew that the village was much too small to not notice the missing clothes and the newcomers to their humble village. At first she had hoped maybe the village had set up some sort of refugee for other survivors, but the village hadn't changed one bit since Mina last visited no more than a month ago.

_Did they even notice the smoke coming from the temples?_ Mina thought bitterly as she looked back at the mountains that housed her former home.

Filled with spite over the lack of help, she walked slowly out of the village and away from the coast. The dark forest just a few hundred yards away wasn't particularly welcoming, but Mina didn't have much of a choice. She may not know where she was going, but surely getting as much distance between them and the temple was the smartest thing to do.


	6. The Best in People

Tuyen urged Vania to go faster. He knew he was pushing his lifelong friend too hard with the third night of flying in a row, but there would be time for rest and asking for forgiveness later. Besides, Vania would understand. Tuyen had to know if his pupil's rumor spreading left the other temples unharmed.

Suddenly the smell of burning flesh permeated his nose once more, but the Master Airbender shook it off. Another painful memory his mind was forcing him to relive. He refused to believe that Kona had died in vain. The other air temples would still be standing and Kona would be remembered a hero. Or at least he kept telling himself that.

* * *

"I thought you said you knew where you were going?" Dez finally asked after Malu had led him to the third dead end in a row.

Malu shot him a glare. "Well it's not like we ever used these caves. Why don't we just go back to the temple? I'm sure that the rest of the Fire Nation army has moved on, whatever it was they were trying to accomplish."

Malu brushed by the stunned Dez as he suddenly realized the girl did know the extent of the attack that the Fire Nation was conducting. He opened his mouth to give her the heart breaking news, but quickly shut it as he thought better. Whether there was ever a good time to tell someone that a majority of their people had just been killed Dez doubted, but he certainly knew that one of the worst times to do was when he relied on her to get them out of these caves. "Better safe than sorry." He offered as means of getting her to drop it.

She simply scoffed at what she assumed was just the firebender being a worry wart, but she gave no further protest as they tried another path.

It took them nearly two more hours to find their exit. Dez ran out at the sign of natural light and was immediately overcome with warmth which was a stark contrast to the chill that was rattling his bones inside the damp cave system. His smile dropped completely as he looked back to see his airbender escort perfectly silhouetted against the source of his great inner fire, the comet. Dez was immediately grateful some clouds had moved in above the temple as from this distance it was actually quite difficult to tell what was and wasn't smoke.

"Where to now?" Malu asked as they both stared at the comet in awe. "Back to the temple I hope?"

The mention of the burning temple strung at his heart chords once more. "No. We need to move to my father's house. It'll be about three days' journey by walking, but we cannot return here until we know it is safe."

This time Malu took his precautions a bit more warily. "You sure there isn't any reason to not go back to the temple other than you think it won't be safe?"

The girl was smart, too smart to keep up this lie for long. Dez steeled his voice though, determined to not have his act be seen through so quickly, after all they weren't out of trouble by a long shot still. "No. I just want to be sure is all."

Malu continued to stare at him curiously, but before she could protest again he spun around and began walking into the forest, hoping that distance would put these questions out of her head. Malu sighed as she took one last look at the red comet before reluctantly following her supposed rescuer.

* * *

Landing with a thud once more, the two airbending boys stumbled and nearly fell off the old wooden dock. Kiron knew these hard landings were just pushing their luck, but sleep just was not an option right now. He had taken them back towards the Southern Air Temple and landed at a fishing village that jutted into the water off of a nearby island, supported entirely on stilts.

Everyone in the village was good friends with their airbender neighbors and if anyone saw Aang fleeing it would be them, this place was always busy, including now as Kiron guessed the time to be after midnight. Many fisherman only went sailing when the moon was high in the sky, claiming sleeping fish were easier to catch.

Or at least Kiron thought these people were good friends with the airbenders. However, as soon as the two young airbenders were spotted everyone ran to their respective shacks and locked the doors as if they were some sort of pariah.

"So much for a crisis bringing out the best in people." Kiron muttered under his breath.

"What?" Owyn finally took his eyes off the nearby temples for the first time since they landed. Kiron was just grateful the temples were much too high up for them to see any smoke.

Kiron just shook his head. "Nothing. Let's just take a look around." Kiron knew he was taking a risk sporting airbender apparel with matching tattoos, but finding new clothes was precious time they once again didn't have. Besides he wore these clothes and master tattoos openly, as they should be no matter what.

The pair began walking across the various wooden platforms. The village, despite existing entirely on stilts, was actually quite expansive and was close to being considered a city more so than a village.

"Psst." The noise came from a cracked open door from one of the many shacks they were passing. "I know what you two are after. Come inside."

Owyn immediately sauntered up to the door but Kiron's firm grip held him back. "Why don't you come out here?" Being overly trustful at a time like this could cost them their lives.

After a few seconds the stranger finally responded. "It's dangerous to talk to you two."

Kiron frowned at the door. "It's probably more dangerous for us."

Seeing that the airbenders weren't going to be convinced the stranger stepped outside. He resembled just about every other person who lived here, looking as if they spent more time in the water than out. "I'm just trying to help you guys out."

"And we appreciate it." Kiron pushed Owyn behind his legs.

"Rough times we live in, huh?"

Kiron's eyebrows set in line as the stranger dared to put himself in the same plight as him and Owyn. "What do you know?"

"You two are looking for bison that left last night right?"

Before he could even respond Owyn jumped out from behind Kiron excitedly. "Yeah!" Kiron shot him a look and a dejected Owyn immediately took the hint. No more talking.

"Listen. I swear I ain't trying to hurt the pair of you. I'm sure the both of you have come down here plenty of times before…this. Anyway, your bison was headed east and he looked as if he had no plans of stopping at Whaletail neither. You wanna find them you head that way. Try Kyoshi maybe too. They always been friendly towards your type."

Kiron attempted to figure out if the truth in the man's words, but he had given them no reason to not trust them up to now. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Y'all sure I can't get you two anything for the journey? Food? Water? Maybe some new clothes?"

Owyn's face lit up at the sound of some food and a fresh set of clothes. Kiron's hard set eyebrows told him otherwise as he was once more disgusted at the idea of having to hide his true heritage. "We aren't charity cases."

Before either Owyn or the stranger could respond, Kiron grabbed Owyn by the waist and used the remainder of his strength to start heading back east towards Kyoshi Island.

* * *

Living off the land sucked. Despite being a nomad all her life, Mina suddenly realized she didn't know the first thing about how to "live with earth" as her spiritual teacher always said. _Nope, can't think about that remember?_

She shook her head as if the memory would leave it like a water droplet off of her hair. Maybe it was because it didn't matter before if she found food since she actually had somewhere to return to before. _Really? Again?_

She began smacking her forehead lightly, trying to clear her head. The third straight day of walking through the forest was clearly getting to her.

A small smacking sound brought her attention down to her knees as once more Etain was mimicking her every motion.

Mina smiled once again. "Oh little one, what am I gonna do with you?"

Etain merely shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno."

The two began walking again after their little exchange and before long the sound of music and people yelling soon filled the air. Etain decided for the both of them whether or not to continue as the little girl stumble-walked into the clearing where the noise was coming from. _I'm sure it'll be fine. After all, with these clothes I look like every other Earth Nation teenager who hasn't bathed in a week and has a kid_. Mina shared a sad laugh with herself over their predicament before running after Etain.

She gripped her tiny hand once more and pointed disapprovingly at the young one. "No running off by yourself."

"No running off by yourself." Etain laughed while pointing back at Mina.

She simply rolled her eyes as disciplining the young girl proved to a fruitless effort again. Mina lifted her eyes off of the troublemaker and the source of the commotion became obvious. At the edge of the long clearing stood a big building which she could only guess to be a tavern. These sorts of places were quite common in the Earth Kingdom wilderness.

Although she knew they would stick out like a sore thumb, Mina also knew the two had been running low on food for too long so she bravely took the first few steps through the tavern door.

Inside they were immediately greeted to the smell of alcohol and sweat. Perhaps Mina had been wrong, these people all looked to be in just as bad as shape as her and Etain.

Not really knowing the proper etiquette to a place like this, Mina took a seat at a lonely table in the corner of the building.

After a few minutes of not being able to flag down anyone that worked here, Mina slammed her head onto the table in frustration with Etain following suit. _Even if I knew the first thing about a tavern we don't even have any money._

The sound of someone pulling out the seat across from her had the two girls raise their heads in unison.

"This seat taken?" The question came from a dark skinned man dressed in a blue tunic with black pants. After Mina shook her head she was able to get a better look at the stranger.

He was clearly from a Water Tribe, based both on his skin and deep blue eyes. His hair was cut unusually short for a Water Tribesmen as it was cut to no more than a quarter inch, leaving not nearly enough in the back to form their famous Warrior Wolf Tail. He also happened to be the cleanest person in the whole place by far. Mina was sure it was her stench that had attracted this unwanted attention. He was also fairly young which gave Mina hope that perhaps their luck was turning. However, once she shifted her gaze upwards she gulped nervously. Strapped across his back was a long sword as well as bow and quiver full of arrows.

_Great. Now we are being hunted like animals._

Mina prepped her hands for an air blast. She knew coming in here was a bad idea and revealing herself was an even worse one, but she could not allow Etain to be captured. She wasn't too keen on the idea herself, either.

"You her mother?" He gestured towards Etain who was bouncing happily in her chair, oblivious to the tension at their table.

"Yes… she's my daughter." Mina finally said shakily.

The stranger looked towards Etain for confirmation.

"Yes, she's my daughter!" Etain screamed back happily.

He cocked his eyebrow towards Mina who just shrugged her shoulders nervously. "Drink up."

For the first time since he sat down Mina looked at the stranger's hands to see that he had carried two mugs filled to the brim to their table. In Etain's cup was quite obviously milk, but Mina's contained a dark liquid that she hadn't ever seen before.

Not wanting to scare off the first stranger that had shown them any kindness, Mina raised the mug to her mouth and drank, Etain followed suit. The liquid went down her throat much warmer than she expected and her entire body seemed to come alive for what felt like years. Her head began to swell quickly though and she quickly put the cup down and began coughing violently.

"Not bad for your first time." The man said with a smirk as he stroked his goatee that Mina hadn't noticed earlier.

Too preoccupied to argue it wasn't her first time with him due to her coughing fit, she instead settled for coughing into her sleeve, trying to muffle the sounds as best she could.

She stared wide eyed as the man put his hand up and someone immediately came over and took his food order. Finally through with her coughing fit, Mina wiped her mouth and spoke. "How did you do that?"

He looked at her strangely at the incredulous question but decided a change in subject would be for the best. "My name is Noa." He extended his huge hands across the table.

Mina hesitantly placed her hand in his, wondering if this is how Etain felt when she held hands with the toddler. "Mina and this is…"

Etain crawled on top of the table, refusing to be introduced by someone else by shoving her hand out towards the stranger. "Etain." She giggled as she could only grip two fingers on his hand.

Etain sat back down and before Noa could ask any more personal questions two food dishes arrived at the table. However, instead of being put in front of him, the server placed the dishes in front of the two girls.

Mina stared at Noa in amazement as Etain wasted no time before digging into the cut up fruit placed before her.

"Eat up." Noa said before Mina could hope to question his intentions. "It's komodo chicken and quite good."

Mina stared down at the steaming meat guiltily. She couldn't not eat it. Vegetarians were far too rare a sight for her to not be instantly outed as an airbender. _Awesome job Mina. One more sacred airbender rule broken._

Her guilt lasted as long as it took for her to get one piece of the meal into her mouth though. "This is meat?" Mina cried out loudly.

Noa cocked an eyebrow at the strange girl as she blushed over her mistake. Mina knew that the only way she could reveal anymore was if she continued to talk, so she chose instead to stuff her face full of the amazing tastes her previous life had been hiding from her.

The rest of the meal consisted of the two girls scarfing down the food and drinks as quick as they could, with Noa just looking out at the rest of the tavern. Mina was quite grateful he wasn't a big talker.

With their stomachs full for the first time all week, both girls slumped in their chairs before Noa rose to his feet and signaled for them to do the same. "Come with me."

Figuring that Noa must be some savior the Spirits had kindly placed upon them, Mina and Etain followed him outside the tavern willingly.

The trio made their way around back of the tavern where a smaller building stood directly attached to the tavern. Noa checked inside quickly before pointing for them to go in.

Mina looked through the open doorway cautiously.

"It's a bathhouse. You can thank me later." Noa's words reassured her, but still she did not enter. Although they had communal showers on the temple, the idea of being so vulnerable near strangers did not sit well with her. Seeming to read her thoughts Noa spoke once again. "Nobody is in there. And I'll make sure that nobody goes in until you are done."

That was all the convincing she needed. Feeling a twinge guilty for taking advantage of her savior, Mina spun before heading inside and wrapped her arms around Noa before he could protest. Etain wrapped herself around his leg, although for once Mina wasn't sure if the girl was copying her or was being genuine.

Noa awkwardly patted Mina's back and the top of Etain's head before shooing both girls into the bathhouse.

Grateful for the hot water, the two stayed bathing long after Mina had scrubbed the both of them clean. Stepping outside after what seemed like a full day, Mina was relieved to see that Noa had kept his promise and was dutifully standing guard.

"Any trouble?" Mina asked with her most genuine smile in a long time.

Noa caught onto her joking tone. "A couple baby sabre tooth moose tried to be peeping toms, but I chased them off." He returned her smile.

Mina approached Noa and threw her arms around him just as she had done before. Etain shoved her way in between and joined in on the group hug.

"Noa. I don't know how to thank you." She breathed in his tunic which smelled strongly of pine needles. _Finally, something other than salt water._

Noa, still not used to their physical affection, returned the hugs in a manner he hoped was tender. "No need. I know what it's like." Before she could question his cryptic message, he pulled away from the prolonged hug and shoved a small pouch in her hands. "Next time avoid a place like this. There's a village not too far north of here and this'll help you."

Mina opened her savior's newest gift and was once again shocked to see it contained at least twenty gold pieces. Although she never had any money to call her own, Mina knew just how much Noa had given to a stranger. She pushed the pouch back towards him. "Noa, I can't."

He backed away from the extended pouch. "Yes, you can. You need it and I have it."

Before she could argue any further, Noa began untying an ostrich horse from a tree that Mina had failed to notice when she stepped out of her blissful bath. "Goodbye Etain. Goodbye Mina. Good luck out there."

The meaning of his words quickly dawned on her as she rushed back to his side, Etain hot on her heels. "Noa. Wait!" Realizing the next thing she was about to ask was ridiculous she decided just to blurt it out. "Take us with you. Please."

"No." He replied sternly as he continued to prepare his ostrich horse.

Mina knew that without Noa they would both be either dead or captured so she did not give in so easily. "Please Noa? I can… I can pay you?" She let out a nervous laugh as she held up the pouch he had just given her.

Noa rolled his eyes. "Mina- "

"I know what it's like." Etain's gleeful mimic surprised them both as she managed to climb atop the animal while the other two were talking.

Noa stared at the young girl in disbelief, clearly not ready to have his own words thrown back at him by a toddler. Noa sighed after what seemed like an eternity. "Fine. You can come with me." Mina immediately latched onto Noa from behind and squeezed him tightly while Etain hugged him much more delicately around his neck from atop her elevated positon. "Let's go before I change my mind." He said with another sigh.

Before she could protest, Noa wiggled out of Mina's grasp and picked her up easily before plopping her in the saddle behind Etain. He used the stirrups and in a flash pressed in behind her. Mina blushed slightly as she realized that a saddle meant for one person meant she would be closer to a boy than she ever imagined.

Noa tapped the ostrich horse on its rear and it gave a small cry of complaint over the added weight before taking off into the forest.


End file.
